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Bristol Post
Bristol Post
Sport
David Byrom

Bristol Rovers boss Graham Coughlan on Gillingham draw and injuries to Josh Hare and Ollie Clarke

Bristol Rovers boss Graham Coughlan says he will assess Josh Hare's fitness on Wednesday after the right-back was stretchered off during his side's 1-1 draw with Gillingham.

The Gas were leading 1-0 through Tyler Smith's goal when Hare was replaced after he went down following a sharp turn on the wing.

Rovers ended up conceding a late equaliser and, with captain Ollie Clarke also going off injured, it proved a frustrating night.

Bristol Rovers manager Graham Coughlan (Ryan Hiscott/JMP)

Coughlan said that he has to wait for Hare's injury to settle to get a full assessment, but that Clarke had a tight hamstring.

He said: "It's never nice when there are injuries and substitutions as it breaks the rhythm of the game.

"I thought it was a very bitty stop-start game.

"I've not got a report on Josh and I won't, I'll give it 24 hours to settle.

"They say it's a knee, but I don't know and I'm not going to jump to conclusions.

"There's no broken bones, he's up and at it in the changing rooms."

He added: "Ollie just felt a bit of a hamstring early in the second half.

"As a precaution, rather than his hamstring going and us losing him for a few weeks, we lost him for 45 minutes tonight.

"You lose your way a bit when there are substitutions and players coming off through injury."

On the game itself, Coughlan admitted frustration at the late equaliser but said his side did not do enough to win.

"I just said to the lads I'm frustrated but they are as well, in fairness.

"It's a game where I felt we missed another opportunity, a chance, we let some points slip.

"It was a game we maybe could have gone two or three up, but, on the whole, on the 90 minutes, I think a draw is probably fair enough.

"I don't think we did enough. Did we create enough clear-cut chances or opportunities? I don't think so.

"Yes, we had bits and pieces but I don't think we performed to our normal levels and standards tonight.

"Getting out in the second half was a problem, our quality wasn't there - our out ball, we tend to drop and sink, they pinned us back into a five.

"A little bit of sustained pressure and they got their goal."

He added: "It was just a bit of positional play that went astray and awry, one or two players just got themselves caught out of position and naturally we got punished.

"There is a tad bit of disappointment and frustration."

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